₦airaland Forum

It's also on bein sports usa

I send a lot of SMS on my MTN sim. Can anyone point me to the cheapest plan I can subscribe to for the cheapest SMS cost? Thanks.

Come, have people never heard of contraception? Why do they keep aborting up and down.

siralexis:
just saw this.....just finish reading all...where is that guy that documented this please i need it...thanks Op

procastination have finished me.....
i never started...fear is among....

Here I am sir, how may I help?

Update

Someone offered to acquihire our business. We said no!

I recently read Horowitz's book, the hard thing about hard things. His theory is to never sell if you're early in a large market. So we took his advice and didn't. Well, the fact that the offer was not that great made it even easier.

We've entertained other investor interest, however, they all have differing views as to what product we should be building. I'm very fixed as to what I want to focus on so don't have much time for people who don't buy into the vision. So looks like we will be bootstrapping for a long time.

We won a Google sponsored pitch competition recently that's given us access to some mentoring training. Very useful for morale as this journey is hard and long, any pat on the back helps.


I hired a biz dev guy at the start of the year to replace the other one who left us. The new guy only stayed a few months before he left, something about family issues. Our old guy is back doing some work part time for us. I'm considering the best way to hire someone new especially as they'll largely be on their own running a more customer support/ success role.

It's all still hard, I continue to fluctuate between moments of despair that we are about to fail and moments of elation over the incredible progress we've made.

If you're working on something you are passionate about, keep believing and stay in the game, the breakthrough will come eventually.

ephi123:
Book again?!

Obasanjo wrote a book. Someone wrote a book for Buhari. Adeniyi wrote a book for Jonathan. Now Tinubu too wants to write a book. What value have these meaningless books added to Nigeria's situation?

I shed a tear when I read this comment. Part of the problem with the Nigerian situation is that not many books are written and too few people read the ones that are. Imagine how great we would be if we wrote more and read more.

AimingIncognito:
I have this fantastic business idea i've been thinking about for almost 2years but i'm super scared of quitting my job and venture into the business.

I actually took the job to save up for the business but along the line my dad advised i buy a land around one higher instutition in my state and build student hostels, so each time i save up to the require amount to set up this business,i develop cold feet and i end up using the money to develop the site.

I'm so into this business or let me put it this way: the business is so into me that i could search the internet for 5hrs Straight(mid-night,midday, on the move, in the office,anywhere and everyone- that is the only thing i think about),it got so bad that the only thing i gist my friends about is this biz.

Its almost 5am and i'm still wide-awake thinking and writing stuffs down about the biz logistics(its that bad)

My fam are a bit skeptical about quitting my job(when good jobs are hard to comeby) and starting a new biz.Also, i think they are just reasoning like a typical african parent by saying 'what if you set up with all you have in lagos and you end up settling down in another state?

I can't even think straight because once i clear my account again for my hostel project, i would hv to start saving allover again.

The probability that the biz would be a hit is 80%, but IF 'idea hackers' overtake me kpere! temibami niyen! I'm not too bothered abt 'idea hackers' really, nigeria population is too big for one person to monopolise an idea.

What should i do pls?

***i can't do both(office job and the business) It won't work

Many people here haven't been faced with this decision so be careful whom you pay heed to.

I was in your shoes a few years ago. Check out my own story in my signature.

I started my own business while I was working full time. The people I put in charge of it ran it terribly. So I quit my job to run the business full time. I was spending most of my time on it anyway and wasn't putting in my full effort at my job as a result. So it was only natural for me to quit and face the business full time.

Having done it my advice would be that you will know yourself when its right to quit. You will feel going to work become harder and harder that you will have no choice but to quit. Take note of this as it may not necessarily be the best thing to do. The reality of new businesses is that the vast majority of them fail, so be aware of that. Your idea may be amazing but still doesn't mean it will fare any better than the thousands that fail daily.

Looking back now the best things I could have done would be to minimize the personal risks by building large enough savings/ cash buffer. New businesses often don't make money for the first few years. So try to create something that provides you a regular cash flow no matter how small. Reduce your regular costs. If possible ensure you don't have to pay rent or many bills. When you stop earning a salary, your savings will disappear very quickly.

Also, you can actually start to test your business in your spare time. Understand the concept of an MVP - minimum viable product. Look for early customers, start to sell the product/ idea. See if it's something people will actually pay for. These are things you can do while still in a job. Thes things will start to demonstrate whether it is a viable idea or not. Remember that execution is what matters, not ideas per se. So start executing even before you leave the job, also a business plan is not really execution.

So it's up to you to decide but be careful and don't just be lead by passion, temper passion with reality.

The ignorance is unfortunate and a lot of the religious leaders are complicit as it serves them to have a blind fold.

My interest in particular is where this intersects with health and causes plenty of illness and suffering. Many christians will tell you only sinners get sick or that all your faith should be in a spiritual healer. It's a big lie that I refute with data in this post.

https://www.nairaland.com/3731696/being-religious-doesnt-preserve-health

Christians need to start opening their eyes to avoid being misled!

The governor of Zamfara state recently came out to say that the meningitis outbreak in his state is as a result of sin. Many people rightly criticized him for his opinion. Problem, however, is that it's a widely held belief among all Nigerians (Christians, Muslims and pagans alike), that diseases cannot affect you if you're religious. Also, that if you're religious and pray hard, you will be miraculously cured. The number of times people prefer to go to a prayer house instead of the hospital is testament to this.

This is however a fallacy. The graph below plots life expectancy for selected countries. It shows that people in 'religious' countries are more likely to die at a younger age than people in 'non-religious' countries. The one thing that correlates with long life and can be seen in the size of the bubbles in the graph, is the health expenditure.

So the verdict is simple, when sick, don't just pray, or go to a spiritualist, instead go to a hospital and pay for proper care. Leave absolute religious thinking out of your health.

Link to data - www./2oelAUW

Not sure this is true but it sounds possible in our mad country. But even if you say tattooing is bad and you want to arrest people, the criminal wey dey still and rape don finish? Na so our police no get work, na to go pursue people with tattoo. I tire for Naaija

This sounds exactly like what the devil would say!

dragonking3:
One question, your statement is it for Nigerians or South Africans?

It applies to everyone. Even the rednecks in America who want to stop all things foreign. FDI is foreign too. Almost half of America's trillion dollar debt is to foreign owners.

I almost didn't want to comment but seeing some of the comments from people with poor knowledge, I just had to say something.

Consider the following to update your thinking.

What is the one thing nations compete for worldwide, FDI.

Every country wants people with hard dollars to bring it into their country, create value and grow the economy.

Now for whatever reason, we seem to have a group of people that think that foreign investment is bad. They at the earliest provocation of any sort want to take it out on foreign investors.

For your information, if you kick out foreign investors or make life hard for them in any way, FDI will dry up and the countries economy will collapse ultimately. We are seeing this already in small degrees with international investors avoiding Nigeria due to our multiple structural issues. No FDI means no new jobs, no taxes, no value creation and stagnant economic growth.

That's why a country will fight against a court ruling that mandated it collect 13 billion euros in taxes from an international corporation. True story: http://fortune.com/2016/08/30/apple-ireland-tax-bill-noonan/

samkpanam:
So Gov.'s Convoy does not have an Ambulance?

God save us all.

Why should it?

kingsizedude:
you see we kill whatever is native and admire what is foreign, I just hate that I'm a Nigerian with all this bunch of monkeys that knows nothing apart from stupid things...likes of creating divide and lots of black man weaknesses.

Sometimes faux patriotism is unwise especially in the face of data. Havard is simply one of the best at creating successful entrepreneurs worldwide. It wouldn't be unreasonable thus to extrapolate that the same applies in Nigeria. The data is not sufficiently large enough for us to reach this specific conclusion. Worldwide, however, Havard is one of the best.

As to the reason, many have alluded to it. Central is the network and signal a Havard degree provides. Regarding Nigerian business specifically, one may argue that perhaps, a Nigerian business school has the local advantage. It should ideally be able to beat Havard in the Nigerian business environment. Look into these schools however and they instead are trying to emulate Havard.

How many books, case studies and research are our universities involved in? Minimal. Until it improves, Havard will beat them hands down on the local front without even trying. Except, Havard is actually trying. Look at the great work of Havard researcher Efosa Ejomo, who writes on Nigerian/ African business. His research and insight is excellent.

eposho:
Charlie, wake up ohh. U no dey for utopia oh.

Happens daily in many countries across the world. Why should we expect anything less.

Nigeria is a joke. Governor turned emergency medical technician to lead accident rescue. Orders their transport in the back of a truck. Victims get turned away at the public hospital, then get treated at a private hospital.

I'm aware many of us are used to so much absurdity that it bears pointing out how things should be done properly:

Governor happens upon an accident scene. Keeps driving, asks one of his staff to call the emergency number. In no time, emergency services arrive. Victims get transported to hospital. Get treated at no cost and get discharged home.

Governor reaches out to hospital later on via his staff to ensure all went smoothly and tries to find out if his admin can improve traffic accident occurrence and care for victims.

Simple!

LAFO:



Seyi sounds pained




He shouldn't have dignified that old woman with a response

Exactly. More of us need to learn that silence is golden.

It's a game and he's clearly playing it. Nothing about that house is real so why be real. Please reserve the outrage for something more serious.

One of the biggest successes of the devil in our day is to make believers think that there is an enemy out there hindering your progress.

When actually most of the time if you look closely, it's the poor choices of the man in the mirror.

Let's look at the posters by the op.

'kill them before they kill you'. Please, who is coming to kill you, if it's not the person you stole from or cheated. Live a clean, honest life and they will not come and kill you.

'Wetin i do you, na u dey do me?' What does this even mean? Go and find work to do and improve your life and others, only jobless people are looking for what their neighbours are doing to them. People no dey do Bill Gates.

'That witch must die'. Which witch? Go school, you no go. Read book, you no read. Learn trade, you no learn. No born pikin, you born 5. No join MMM, you put life savings inside. Go build house, you buy flashy car. Deliver for your job, you dey gossip for office. Abeg who be the witch for inside.

'Let me marry or you die'. When you were chasing money and men up and down in your youth. Wasting precious time doing nothing you didn't blame anyone. Now the chicken has come to roost, somebody must die. Ok so if the person dies, abi he will reincarnate and become your husband.

Educate yourselves and open your eyes. Every prayer should be to ask for strength to overcome. That's what life is about, overcoming our selfish desires, helping others and aligning our hearts with God.

Largely we are our own greatest enemies.

Nigerian banks know how to brand. Turn on CNN, you will see first bank, Zenith bank etc. Look at their balance sheet, all a facade. Nigerian banks are not real banks. They're just money hoarding vehicles to enrich the already rich and fleece the poor. What kind of bank loans out money at 25% for goodness sake!

In all this discussion, we forget the primary reason for a university. It is to allow people learn to think for themselves. Universities are supposed to promote logic and reasoning via exposure to multiple schools of thought and ways of being. So for private universities that attempt to control what their students are exposed to, they will never measure up to public universities. On the other hand, private universities that espouse liberal thinking, allow students develop independent minds and behaviours, will go on to supersede public universities.

However were you to ask me where I would send my kid, I would choose a private university as they seem to have better academics. There is too much academic rot in the public system that the relative intellectual freedom it provides can't redeem it. I will do the work on the outside to promote their liberal mind and free thinking.

MSME's don't need a clinic. We need:

- Electricity
- Stable foreign exchange
- Access to finance

Give us these and forget this clinic business. After all it's the above things I will go to the clinic to complain about.

Solve them for everyone. Shikena!

Dharkchild:
Here is the thing. A cv is an advert telling the recruiter these are the skills you have and you have achieved this and that with it. Where you have not achieved anything, you must convince the recruiter you can full achieve their job role.

Potentials you mentioned on the contrary is what is within you. The recruiter had no internal Google search to see your spirit man and ascertain that you can fulfil the required duties.

It seems therefore your responsibility as a job seekers to convince the recruiter that you are indeed capable of handling the job citing were you have handled related roles or how and where you have gained skills that can help you handle the job.

Your cv is an important marketing tool. Sell yourself properly

Ps. It is not the job of the recruiter to help people find their skill, his wok is to hire people who can DELIVER or who have proven that when given a chance they would deliver

Thank you very much sir! 1000 likes for you. Too many of us have this sense of entitlement that somehow the recruiter should come and see the attributes one has without being prompted. They will learn the hard way eventually.

eitch:
I could have wholly agreed with you but for a few reasons like:
Most online applications don't sound like doing all these

You really encouraging putting in pseudo skills? Those kind of things i believe could get you embarrassed if you're called for an interview and you're asked to defend your claims

and lastly, all these sound like theories. They really guarantee nothing, so why should i spin my already overworked brain due to being jobless after school on writing applications to (how sure am i it's not even gnld) companies i'm almost sure only advertised vacancies for doing sake

Your brain is overworked doing what? Please don't insult yourself. Your brain is capable of the most amazing things once a bit of will is applied.

I don't encourage pseudo-skills. What I said is create the perfect CV for your field and work towards it so that you will become the ideal candidate. When you eventually present the ideal CV you will have all the competencies within it.

Nothing is guaranteed in life but certain actions make certain outcomes more likely. I'm only trying to help so you may take it or leave it, it's entirely up to you.

KINGTELLER:
naa wao.. All these epistles because ofjob. That is why employers employ liars rather than skillful and gifted individuals, because someone wants to impress one lucky HR personnel who finds himself or herself in a position of authority, he twist his cv to get attention ... HR should champion their selective skills to fight for the good benefits of their employees rather than antagonize job seekers cv. The best HR dont look at your cv to invite you for interview take a good look at P&G company and other multinational firms. instead they send you a job related questionnaire/scenario and judge your performance based on your response (Your scores are automated)

I'm sorry this is not an epistle, it's actually quite simple really and plenty of people are doing it already. I know because I see it and I hire them. Not every company has big budgets for hiring like the multinationals and even they still get it wrong. Hiring is imperfect, we do what we can to try get the best candidates. That includes CV, aptitude testing, interview etc. People just need to know how to present themselves appropriately, not sell themselves short. I'm only trying to help.

bobo65:
OP ur criteria too much jare

After everythin, u guys will now be paying d graduate 40k

If these simple things are hard, how does the graduate hope to deliver in a demanding job?

Graduates are getting 40k because business and country is hard. When you prove your value to the business they will increase your salary or another company will see your value and snap you away quickly.

Sitting on one's hands waiting for 200k job while doing nothing will get the person nowhere.

maxwell767:
@ Op.. Nice write up

But let me draw ur attention to Number 9.

Am sure u are fully aware that the age u gained admission into tertiary education may not be the expected age u came out..

E.g gaining admission at the age of 20 year
Expecting to graduate after ur four years course at the age of 24, but came out at the age of 28 due to the Economic situation.

You talked about experience, let me ask u, how will one get experience if people like u don't give them the opportunity..

There are thousands of people who graduate from universities only to waste their skill which they acquired to some linier jobs...

E.g a doctor decided to go into petty trade

I read ur thread and I have to tell u that I am disappointed, why? Cause u make boast of ur self especially the one you threw cv's into the bin..

Has it ever occurred to u that those people might have a good potentials of which u can help them to find it.

And how are u sure that those ones that got it right wrote the CV's and cover letter themselves, and at the end of the interview u will be amazed by what u see.

Please don't be deceived by those so called great professionally written CV, what matters most is how the employees DELIVER!

I see this post has gotten over 100 likes so it should be responded to.

First, let me preface this by saying I only ever employ young or fresh graduates. They are easier to train and eager to work, generally speaking.

When I refer to experience, I mean what did you do with your time when you didn't need to do anything. That is a key marker for a hard worker. For every fresh grad I employed, they either volunteered with their time or did a particular business. This needs to reflect in a CV. If it doesn't, those that reflect it in their CV will get the position before those that don't.

Regarding throwing CV's in the bin, that is just the reality, not pride or boasting. The main goal of a business is to make money, recruiting is a distraction, albeit a necessary one. So when I put up an ad for a position, and get over 100 CV's for one position, the fact is I don't have time. I need to find a way to quickly sort out the lazy and unserious people. The easiest way (not necessarily the most accurate) include some of the tips above. No recruiter will go through 100 CV's in depth just for one position. Recruiting is by its nature discriminatory as not everyone will end up with the job.

As regard potential, I'm open to cultivating promising people. However, if a CV cannot simply demonstrate why I should put the effort into them then why should I bother. I'm not their mother or father who is supposed to encourage them at every turn. A CV is the first step, then of course, there's an interview which is even more important. A CV, however, is the first impression, it needs to count otherwise no hope of an interview. No recruiter will interview 100 people for one position.

Even after a great hiring process, an employee may not deliver. It is always hard to predict who will. The CV, interview process is annoying and discriminatory but it's the best we have so everyone needs to learn how to optimize it for themselves. The purpose of writing this post in the first place was to help people be better. Many recruiters don't give feedback, I've tried to. Let who finds it useful use it accordingly.

I was surprised to see my post make front page. I'm glad more people will get to see it and hopefully improve their chances. I've read the negative responses to it and go respond to them individually. Let me first make some general points.

For virtually every job in Nigeria today there are at least 100 CV's that go in for it, often more. HR has to pick one person from 100. So make no mistake about it, they are looking for every reason to disqualify you. HR is not your father or mother, they have a job to do and don't have all the time in the world. So it's not about pride it's just fact. If your CV is bad, you don't give yourself a chance. Get a professional CV writer if you have to. Give yourself a chance.

Regarding hiring via CV's. Hiring itself is an imperfect act. You will never know if you got it right until months after. The hiring process is to reduce risks of getting it wrong. Which is why I personally prefer to hire from my network but people will say that is nepotism or preferential treatment. Employers just can't win.

For experience, I like to hire inexperienced people. But I don't like to hire lazy people. So if you spent 7 years in school instead of 4. What did you do with the extra 3 years? If i see someone who tried to be productive in that time I will take them over you who was sitting on your hands waiting for manna to fall from heaven.

So please see what hiring actually is, a lottery. Try and weight the odds in your favour by not giving the employer any reason to disqualify you. Ever wonder why they ask you sometimes to use a particular colour pen to fill a form. It is so they can disqualify the idiots or ITK that can't follow simple instruction.

Interviews are another kettle of fish altogether but stop doing yourself a disservice by having poor CV's. It's so easy to have a great CV if you put in a bit of effort. That's what a good CV signals, that you put in good effort to anything you do.

I'm sure many job seekers have heard some of these things below. They, however, bear repeating as I've recently had to do some hiring again and I still see too many people do these. So please don't:

1. Forward CV's from previously forwarded emails - Shows you're too lazy and unobservant. How can your email contain forwarded info of previous applications? Be wise, delete it. While you're at it, make sure to write an accompanying email and not just forward a blank email.

2. Forget to include a cover letter - Research the company and be as specific as possible in your letter. It shows you're not lazy like the average person out there is. It also helps you highlight how your unique skills and experience will help the employer. Again, make sure the email containing your CV is not empty, or says something dumb like, 'see attached'. If you're too busy to write something to a potential employer, then the employer will be too busy to look at your CV.

3. Use comic sans - We're not in kindergarten, use a serious font. This doesn't apply of course if you're applying to become a clown or to work in a comic shop or kids related company.


4. Scan and email CV as an attachment - I thought everyone had learned this but I still receive CVs like this. I don't even read, just click delete straight. The standard is PDF format created from a word document. Document should be easily identified. Document title should include your name and job position applied for. e.g 'john.bull.cv.account.officer.pdf'

5. Ignore linked in - We're in the technology age so I check all my applicants' linked in profile automatically using a plugin in my inbox. If you have a killer profile with shared connections with me, you're getting an interview. If you don't, well you'd have to impress me somewhere else. Linked in is such a low hanging fruit, use it. Google how to create a killer linked in profile, it's not that hard! First thing is a good picture.

6. List generic skills - Everyone is a team player, fast learner, has good interpersonal skills etc. What did you do to demonstrate a trait? That's what employers are interested in.

Example:

'I have good planning skills' - poor.

'I planned an event for 1000 people with a tight budget that achieved a 90% satisfaction rate in a post-event survey' - better.

Always try to put figures to your achievements. Tell me, 'I led a new marketing initiative that raised sales by 100%', I want to talk to you yesterday!

7. Use a photo - Unless you're working in the media this is generally a bad idea. If you must use a photo, ensure it's professionally taken against a plain background.


8. Include Interests and hobbies - Take this section out. Leave it in only if it's spectacular. That is something like you were a champion dancer or a published author, otherwise, nobody cares about it. Everyone likes to read, dance and meet new people. Why should that make anyone want to hire you?


9. Demonstrate inexperience - Is your CV too sparse? go and find something to do to fill it up. If you're approaching 30 and only have a few lines in your CV, sorry it will end up in the trash. 20-year-olds now are becoming billionaires so go out and get some experience somehow and somewhere. Being unproductive in your own time signals to the employer that you will be unproductive on his time. Even if it's farming you have to go do, do it and put it in your CV, there is dignity in every kind of labor.

The trick to a killer CV when you're inexperienced is to create a model CV with all the experiences and skills employees want. It would be a lie at first, but make it a goal to convert every single lie to a truth. You will look back in a few years time and realize you have become an amazing person. You don't need a job to do this. Just initiative and a hard working mentality.

Hiring is risky. reduce the risk by letting the potential employer know that the job he's about to give you will be easy for you to do because you've demonstrated it in the past.

DonX001:
@ 1k001,
Lol, I can imagine what you've been going through from your write-up, as a B2B seller.
Business is really about ups and downs, highs and lows. Its only when one reads through biographies or detailed write-ups about some of these founders of major companies today, that you'll understand what they went through.
Anybody hearing "starting a business is not a bed of roses" will not fully appreciate it until he has worn those boots and being in the trenches.
Sometimes I watch episodes of Forbes Africa TV's "My Worst Day in Business" on YouTube, and see what even our current business moguls went through at some point in their lives.
Its really not easy.
But I encourage you to keep at it.
Eventually it will pay off.

You may need to keep innovating and finding new ways to create more markets for you, and get more sales out of those markets. After all, hard times breed creativity by compulsion.

Expanding to other countries is one good way if feasible. Preferably to Caucasian populations sef if possible. Its far better to earn in dollars or pounds now if at all possible, so consider if there's any way your product can be tweaked or rebranded to suit some "dollar-paying" target markets.

You should also consider if there are other markets within Nigeria here that you can twist your product to fit....target markets that you may not have considered or deemed worthwhile previously.
You may even consider creating smaller side products as "quick and dirty" solutions for other types of businesses, to provide some cash liquidity to stay afloat in these trying times.

Seek newer ways to market your products that you may have not been using previously.

In difficult times as in recessions, iteration and creativity are key to survival.

If you start getting depressed, remember that Elon Musk slept n worked in a tiny cubicle for a long time at the beginning of his start ups. And now, he can buy an entire estate of cubicles without batting an eyelid.

Keep at it....we are rooting for you.

Cheers.

Thanks for your advice and kind words, they're all being considered. I pray I live to tell a positive and successful story from all the suffer head times. Still a while and plenty of work away

New year, new plans, new surprises.

We started the new year with big plans for 3x-ing our 2016 revenue and hopefully breaking even.

We've new initiatives to adopt including, adding a new product and expanding to a new territory.

We were hit however with a new surprise, our ever loyal and hardworking business dev guy got a great offer from a multinational. 3x his current salary, can't compete. It's bitter- sweet as we are happy for him but sad to be losing a key team member. We're waving him goodbye but he still wants to be involved on the fringe as he believes in our vision and owns some equity.

I'm determined to grow the company so his equity becomes really valuable. So he knows that the work he put in wasn't in vain and that in the midst of all the craziness in our country, hard work, integrity, and loyalty still pays.

So we're looking to hire a biz dev/ admin officer. If you or anyone you know is:

young, a hard worker, has integrity, is extroverted, can sell, can think, can learn, ask him to hit us up.

We don't offer much in form of pay, but we can tell you that you will have fun, you will learn, you will grow. We question the status quo and we try to make a difference despite all odds.

CV and cover letter to: abujadatacollection@gmail.com role to be filled ASAP.